Upright and canister vacuum cleaners that utilize dirt cup assemblies to remove and collect dirt and debris entrained in an airstream are well known in the art. Many dirt cup assemblies take advantage of cyclonic airflow to provide enhanced cleaning. Many of those dirt cup assemblies M incorporate a relatively large or primary cyclone upstream from a plurality of relatively small secondary cyclones P (see FIG. 8). Such secondary cyclones P are commonly radially arrayed around a central axis of the dirt cup assembly M and are provided in parallel downstream from the primary cyclone.
Such a dirt cup assembly M provides very good cleaning action. It should be appreciated, however, compact design is a major consideration when producing upright and canister vacuum cleaners. Accordingly, a relatively large number of components are incorporated into a relatively confined space in the dirt cup assembly M. The routing of an airstream around and through these components is complicated and there are many potential corners and pockets that create dead air space, undesired air turbulence, and airflow inefficiency. Such a pocket Q is illustrated in FIG. 8 between secondary cyclones P near the top of the dirt cup assembly M (note action arrows R representing turbulent air stream). The present invention relates to a dirt cup assembly incorporating an internal air guide system that minimizes such air turbulence to enhance airflow and overall vacuum cleaner operating efficiency.